An engineering exploration of Stonehenge and other monuments; this blog develops the theory that Stonehenge was a Geocentric model of the Neolithic cosmos: A Universe in which the cosmos rotates around our planet.

Friday, 12 February 2016

Can geodesy and its links to ancient monuments be used in teaching?

Our
earliest society believed that their Universe consisted of a sphere
in which the Earth was at the centre (known as a geocentric or
Ptolemaic worldview).

The
"Solving the Neolithic" project is based on the idea that
some Neolithic structures may be the result of the way our ancestors
came to the above conclusion: Several dozen monuments have the appearance of being the remains of structures built to answer philosophical questions
about the nature of the world. A few of these methods require some
lateral thinking.

A sample
of remains which might result from some of these logical thought
processes can be found at Avebury, Newgrange, Knowth and each of the
three main phases of Stonehenge.

The post
below is about whether or not this type of logic-driven discovery
process has any value as a teaching aid in the modern era. It came
about through a discussion in the Pre-historic society's area of
facebook. If you have any comments about how this might be used in
teaching, please feel free to comment on this page or on the
facebook site

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Some of
the ideas on how this might be applied have already been written
up for try-out in schools. The methods that appear to me
to have the highest likelihood of having some use in education are:

1) A
method to find out if the stars rotates around our planet

This arrangement is partially written up and can be reproduced at a
location known as The Long Man in East Sussex. There is some debate
about whether or not the Long Man itself is any more than a few
hundred years old. However, it is known that the relevant slope was
cleared during the Neolithic.

This idea is a method of describing our cosmos from the point of view
of an observer standing on what she believes to be a fixed world. It
applies to a few locations (Ring of Brodgar for example). In this
instance, the method of describing that cosmos is written up for
Phase II of the monument known as Stonehenge.

3) A
layout description of how to work out if the Sun's movement is fixed
from year to year

Once the cosmos is established (2 above), the layout can be drawn
geocentrically to show how the sun moves and its furthest extent at
solstice. Once drawn out, this layout is the same as a place called
Avebury (for winter solstice). It's worth looking at Stonehenge below
(item 10) before reading this one.

4) A
construction method to determining whether the Sun has fixed ranges

This method requires some lateral thinking, but results in structures
that appear to be duplicated at many sites. The one with the highest
degree of confirmatory details, together with engravings representing
the ideas, is Newgrange.

5) A
method to find out whether or not the Earth is curved or a flat disk

This combination of circumstances is unusual because it requires some
very specific conditions to exist naturally. At Preseli, it is possible to conclude that our world is not
flat by walking from one tall hill to another. These conditions happen
to exist just above the spot that the quarry for
Stonehenge's bluestones is thought to be located: Neolithic mounds
are located at the precise location of each of the two natural
features.

6) A
construction method to find out whether or not the Earth is a
(curved) sphere or a curved disk

This method requires a series of observations at unusual topographic
locations. Each of these locations has a monument, of the specialised
form required, and placed at exactly the correct topographical spot.
This series of Neolithic monuments exists along the South Coast of
England.

As yet
it is not written up for the internet, but a very short explanation
can be found in the book.

7) A
layout description of a method to determine how to find out the size
of the Earth

This method is a variant on the one used by Al-Biruni
in the 16th century. Unlike Al-buruni's method, it does not require
any special equipment. Al-Biruni's method is different from the one
thought to have first been developed by Eratosthenes. This layout,
needed for the modified Biruni method, is the same as found at a Neolithic monument along the
South Coast of England.

As yet
it is not written up for the internet, but a very short explanation
can be found in the book.

8) A
construction method to determine the size of the Earth

The method described in 6&7 above requires a specialised monument
at a specific topographical location. The best example of this type
of arrangement exists as a Neolithic monument on the adjacent hill to
the one described in 7 above.

As yet
it is not written up for the internet, but a detailed explanation, together with the results of tests to reproduce the method,
can be found in the book.

9)
Ancillary construction methods required to determine the size of the
Earth

These arrangements exist as a series of Neolithic monuments adjacent
to the hill described in 8) above.

As yet
it is not written up for the internet, but a very short explanation
can be found in the book.

10) A
layout description (geocentric) of the results of some of the above
[of two parts]

This arrangement is a general description of a known cosmos after all
the experiments (and some others) referred to above have been done. This layout exists at Stonehenge in its third and last
phase (but nowhere else).

11) A
construction method to physically demonstrate the results of all of
the above

This arrangement recreates a physical demonstration of knowledge
about a geocentric system. The result of this is spectacular. The
basis of this system was published as a patent in the 1970's and
similar systems are in use in India today. An alternative version of
this type of system appears to be duplicated at Stonehenge.

A
description of this system can be found in the book. It would require
significant effort to duplicate it for teaching purposes, so has not
been linked to at this stage.

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I've cut
the above list down, but there are more than a dozen arrangements, for other similar purposes related to geodesy, which appear to be duplicated in
Neolithic monuments. A much shortened version of the above list, in a format already
prepared for schools, can
be found here.

The
sequence that the project is based upon starts with a single
observation at a geographical location which has a very unusual set of
characteristics. This set of characteristics only appears to exist in Scotland, and only at one place.

If you
have any comments about how any of the above might be used in
teaching, or which ones would be best prepared in more detail, please
feel free to comment on the
facebook page or on this site.

We would be especially grateful for sharing on social media to anyone who might be interested.

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Stonehenge can be used to explain how the sun and stars turn around a world which is fixed at the centre of the Universe. Its plan describes that Universe. Its stones create the hinge around which the brightly lit 'mini-sun' turns. The books, and this accompanying blog, help to explain what the hinge of stone could have been for.

The author & contact

Jon is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of two engineering Institutions. To contact privately, post a comment here.

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The systems described are fully functional renewable energy demonstrators (with dimensions and details as found at Stonehenge). Please contact the author via the link on: 'The Broken Stone and the secret of the Heavens' Henge' for further information. Note: Systems are patent pending. All photographs and images are copyrighted.